By Brian Losness

Nostalgia Pro Stocks turning back the clock

As I begin this month’s Getting Nostalgic, it occurred to me that while I have spent a great deal of time talking about fuel cars, AA/Gassers, and the politics involved in these various series, I have been remiss in not mentioning the teams who field nostalgia pro stock cars. 

Jeff Johnson has taken his passion for vintage Pro Stocks and created the National Nostalgia Pro Stock Association, based in Ohio. However, this association isn’t just some new upstart. In fact, it has been in existence for many seasons.

“I started this back in 1994 and did it for a while, then took a break from it for a while, then started it back up again,” Johnson said from his base in Ohio.

The NNPSA’s reason d’être is running Pro Stock the way it was  back in the day. Because it’s based on weight breaks, the series can run a variety of cars and still keep the competition even.

Johnson first got the itch for Nostalgia Pro Stock when he purchased an ex-Billy “The Kid” Stepp Pro Stocker that was running in A Mod/Production. He then carried out a general restoration on the car to turn it back into a Pro Stocker show car.

This was the start of Johnson’s passion for the cars, especially those of a Mopar vintage. He has done restorations of the Herb McCandless and Don Carlton cars, along with the Billy Stepp Colt. As with all things, there had to be more. This is when Johnson decided to start racing these period correct remodels, or as Johnson calls them, clones of the originals.

As more and more of these cars became available, the natural tendency was to move to racing them. By forming the National Nostalgia Pro Stock Association, Johnson has given these nostalgia racers a place to highlight their cars.

 

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